Gaza: The horrifying shock received by Dr. Mohammed Abu Salama, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, when five bodies of his family arrived at the hospital he manages, was neither the first nor the last. Previously, Palestinian pediatrician Alaa Al-Najjar was struck by the arrival of nine of her children's bodies at Al-Nasser Medical Complex.
According to Yemen News Agency, the targeting of Dr. Abu Salama's family is part of a systematic targeting of civilians in Gaza, which has faced intense bombing, fire zones, and the destruction of towers and residential buildings over several days, resulting in hundreds of martyrs, mostly children and women.
Doctors in Gaza live under immense psychological pressure, balancing fear for their families while trying to save lives, in addition to the dangers of bombardment, arrest, and torture, and the loss of their own lives since the start of the aggression. Munir Al-Barsh, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, confirmed that the Israeli enemy has killed 1,723 medical personnel since the war began.
To further illustrate the suffering of medical staff in the besieged sector, the independent Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies, based in Beirut, reported on Sunday that Israeli forces have arrested more than 360 medical and health personnel in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, noting that four of them died in prison due to torture and medical neglect. The center added that Israeli authorities continue to hold about 3,500 prisoners from Gaza, including dozens of health workers-doctors, paramedics, and administrators-headed by Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Dr. Mohammed Obeid, head of the Department of Reconstructive and Orthopedic Surgery, and Dr. Mohammed Zaher from the same hospital.
The statement indicated that Israeli forces raided several hospitals during military operations, including Kamal Adwan, Al-Shifa, Al-Indonesi, Al-Awda, and Al-Nasser hospitals, arresting some patients and medical staff, and evacuating entire wards. Paramedics were also detained while performing their duties to rescue and transport the wounded. Among medical personnel killed in prison were Dr. Adnan Ahmed Al-Barsh, head of Orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital; Dr. Iyad Al-Rantisi, head of Obstetrics at Kamal Adwan Hospital; paramedic Hamdan Hassan Inaya from Khan Younis; and nurse Ziyad Mohammed Al-Dallo from Al-Shifa Hospital.
The center emphasized that targeting health workers constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and humanitarian conventions that prohibit attacks on medical personnel during conflicts. Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the government media office, described the situation as 'a blatant violation of medical neutrality.' He added that targeting doctors and their families constitutes a war crime and undermines the ability to provide healthcare to hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The enemy has destroyed or targeted hundreds of homes belonging to medical staff, resulting in thousands of martyrs and displacement of healthcare workers, causing a major collapse in medical services. The Palestinian Red Crescent issued an urgent call in May to the international community to immediately protect medical and humanitarian staff working in Palestinian territories, amid escalating attacks on humanitarian personnel.
UNICEF spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf stated that medical staff in Gaza work under extreme pressure, amid severe shortages of medicine and medical supplies, electricity cuts, and fuel shortages necessary to operate hospital equipment. He warned, 'If Gaza is left in this situation, we face a humanitarian disaster whose effects will last for decades.'
Munir Al-Barsh, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned on Tuesday of a total hospital shutdown within 48 hours due to extreme fuel shortages. He stated that the stoppage signals an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, noting that 38 hospitals have been destroyed or disabled since the start of the war, with only 13 partially operating amid incapacity to meet the needs of thousands of patients and the wounded, according to the Palestinian 'Shehab' Agency.
As part of the ongoing systematic targeting, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Monday that Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital and Al-Oyoun Hospital went out of service due to continuous Israeli targeting of surrounding areas, in addition to the destruction of a medical relief center in Gaza City. The ministry said Al-Rantisi was directly bombed, causing severe damage, and Al-Oyoun is the only general eye hospital in Gaza, while Al-Rantisi provides services unavailable elsewhere.
Mohammed Abu Afesh, director of the Medical Relief Association in Gaza, warned on Tuesday of an impending health disaster due to fuel shortages in hospitals. He said the humanitarian situation in the sector has worsened for more than 14 days due to Israel preventing the entry of medical supplies, drugs, and diesel fuel.
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced on Tuesday the shutdown of the oxygen station at Al-Quds Hospital in Tel Al-Hawa, southwest Gaza City, after it came under fire from Israeli forces. The hospital now depends on pre-filled oxygen cylinders sufficient for only three days, posing a direct threat to patients' lives.
Palestinian statistics indicate that the Israeli army targeted 162 health institutions and 136 ambulances. According to the WHO, 94% of Gaza hospitals have been damaged. The organization urgently called for the lifting of the blockade on aid, protection of healthcare, unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, immediate resumption of medical evacuations, and an immediate ceasefire.
The UN Office for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories expressed deep shock and anger in early August over the continued killing of emergency and humanitarian workers in Gaza due to Israeli attacks. The office reported that on August 3, the Israeli army targeted a facility of the Palestinian Red Crescent, killing one staff member and injuring three others. As of that date, the total fatalities among Palestinian Red Crescent staff reached 49, and 136 among civil defense personnel, all killed while performing their humanitarian duties under extremely dangerous conditions.
This includes the notorious paramedic massacre committed by Israel in Rafah in March. What this report describes is only a small fraction of the suffering endured by Gaza's medical staff and health system due to the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 2023.
The health system in Gaza has faced near-total collapse since the start of the Israeli aggression, amid a tight blockade preventing the entry of medical equipment, fuel, and medicines, along with continuous obstruction of patient transfers for treatment outside the sector. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 70% of health facilities are out of service due to direct targeting or depletion of resources, while tens of thousands of wounded, mostly children, women, cancer patients, and chronically ill people, urgently require treatment outside Gaza.
Israeli authorities strictly limit patient travel through Rafah or Kerem Abu Salem crossings, often delaying or denying permits without justification, worsening health conditions or resulting in deaths. With US and European support, the Israeli army has continued since October 7, 2023, committing crimes of genocide, siege, and starvation in Gaza, causing 65,382 Palestinian civilian deaths, mostly children and women, and 166,985 injuries so far, with thousands of victims still trapped under rubble or in streets inaccessible to ambulances and rescue teams.